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AMD’s newest graphics cards: RDNA2 power from $579 to $999 – Ars Technica

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Today, AMD launched the first of its “Big Navi” RDNA 2 architecture Radeon graphics cards, the RX 6800 XT and RX 6900 XT. These cards compete directly against Nvidia’s RTX 3070, RTX 3080, and RTX 3090.

Like Nvidia’s RTX 3000 line, the new cards offer 60+ fps 4K gaming, with full DirectX 12 Ultimate support, including hardware-accelerated real-time ray tracing.

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Performance

RDNA2 brought enormous gen-on-gen fps gains from last generation’s “little Navi” RX 5000 series—but what most people will care about is how the components compare to Nvidia’s offerings, not to last generation’s AMD. In terms of sheer GPU horsepower, Nvidia’s RTX 3000 series and AMD’s RX 6000 series appear to be in a dead heat. As always, it’s worth taking a vendor’s own private benchmarks with a grain of salt—but we don’t expect to see materially different results in private testing later as these cards filter down to the market.

AMD did not compare the RX 6800 (non-XT) with Nvidia’s RTX 3070; instead, the 6800 was compared with last generation’s RTX 2080Ti. But for most intents—and as backed up by our own Sam Machkovech’s recent testing—these cards perform quite similarly. So we can reasonably read the RX 6800 chart as comparing to the RTX 3070.

Features

The biggest addition to the Radeon arsenal with RDNA 2 is real-time ray tracing and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate. The new cards feature one Ray Accelerator for each Compute Unit on the card, offering a roughly tenfold increase in ray-tracing performance compared to software-only implementations.

The addition of real-time hardware ray tracing brings Radeon to gaming-feature parity with Nvidia’s lineup, at least on paper. It will take some time to decipher how well Radeon’s ray-tracing support stacks up to Nvidia’s in real life—and particularly in the context of real-world games, which up until now have been advertised loudly with “Nvidia RTX” logos, even though they largely rely on a more open DirectX Ray Tracing protocol.

On the console front, Microsoft was keen on immediately reminding gamers that its next-gen consoles would leverage the “full feature set of RDNA 2 in hardware.”

The new RDNA2 architecture also brings greater power efficiency to the Radeon lineup, with the 300W 6800 XT and 6900 XT beating out their Nvidia competitors by 20W and 50W, respectively. On the lower end of the lineup, Nvidia takes the lead, with the 220W Nvidia RTX 3070 beating the 250W Radeon RX 6800.

Pricing

AMD card AMD price Most comparable Nvidia card Nvidia price
Radeon RX 6800 $580 RTX 3070 $500
Radeon RX 6800 XT $650 RTX 3080 $700
Radeon RX 6900 XT $1,000 RTX 3090 $1,500

In some ways, AMD looks like it might have gotten caught with its pants down on the RX 6800 pricing. Consumers will probably have a hard time justifying an extra $80 at that price bracket on a card with higher thermals and a more uncertain real-time ray-tracing pedigree. But in other ways, AMD might have the edge—if higher amounts of VRAM in each class are your selling point. The RX 6800’s 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM doubles that of Nvidia’s comparable RTX 3070.

The value proposition is closer to even when upgrading to the 6800XT and just about overwhelming at the top tier. That’s where Nvidia’s RTX 3090 costs a whopping 50 percent more than AMD’s RX 6900 XT for roughly the same 4K frame rates delivered. Both of these AMD cards sport 16GB of GDDR6 VRAM, as well, but that’s not clocked as highly as Nvidia’s choice of GDDR6X VRAM (11GB of it in the RTX 3080, and 24GB in the RTX 3090).

If all you’re looking for is the best raw 4K frame rates on current AAA games, ray tracing be damned, the top end of the RX 6000 series seem like clear winners. For anyone heavily invested in ray tracing, sticking with Nvidia—who brought it to market a generation sooner—might be the better bet if you can’t wait a few months to see how those features and their performance shake out in the market.

This article has been updated with more information about VRAM capacity in AMD’s newest GPUs.

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Take-Two Interactive to Acquire 'Borderlands' Developer Gearbox From Embracer Group for $460 Million – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Take-Two Interactive has acquired video game developer Gearbox, the maker of the “Borderlands” franchise, from Embracer Group for $460 million.

Per Take Two, the company “expects the transaction to deepen its successful relationship with Gearbox Entertainment and to provide increased financial benefits through a fully integrated operational structure.”

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As part of the deal, Take-Two will acquire Gearbox IP, including “Borderlands” and “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands” franchises, games published by Take-Two’s 2K Games, as well as “Homeworld,” “Risk of Rain,” “Brothers in Arms” and “Duke Nukem.”

Currently, Gearbox has six “key interactive entertainment projects in various stages of development,” per Take-Two, which includes five sequels, two from “Borderlands” and “Homeworld” universes, and at least one “exciting new intellectual property,” all of which have been acquired in the sale.

Take-Two’s purchase of Gearbox is expected to close in June, pending regulatory approval. Upon completion, Gearbox will operate as a studio within 2K, continuing to be led by Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford and his management team.

Former Gearbox owner Embracer, a Swedish gaming conglomerate who snapped up the rights to “Lord of the Rings” two years ago, has undergone a severe restructuring program over the past year, which has seen the company shut down or dispose of dozens of games studios and titles and lay off hundreds of staff, resulting in aftershocks that have reverberated throughout the games industry.

The sale of Gearbox marks the latest insistence of Embracer unloading assets, following the company divesting Saber Interactive.

“Our acquisition of Gearbox is an exciting moment for Take-Two and will strengthen our industry-leading creative talent and portfolio of owned intellectual property, including the iconic Borderlands franchise,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said. “This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives.”

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An OLED iPad Pro and the first big-screen iPad Air will reportedly arrive in May – Engadget

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Apple will finally launch new iPads in early May, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Expected are a new iPad Pro with an OLED display and a faster iPad Air, including a 12.9-inch model for the first time in that lineup. The details of the upcoming iPad models have been consistent, circulating through the rumor mill since last year.

The new iPad Pro models will reportedly add OLED displays (offering deeper blacks and richer colors) and run on the new M3 chip, already found in several Macs. The new tablets are said to launch alongside a redesigned Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard. Other than a white color option, the latter has remained unchanged since its arrival four years ago.

Meanwhile, the iPad Air will supposedly run on a new processor. Bloomberg didn’t specify which, but — considering the current model uses the M1, and Apple likely wants to reserve the M3 for the more expensive Pro — the M2 sounds like a safe bet. The 12.9-inch screen option would mark the first time the iPad Air line has offered a display larger than 10.9 inches. Although Apple will charge more for that model than the smaller sibling expected alongside it, that would be the cheapest way yet to get a supersized iPad screen.

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Gurman said early this month that the new tablets would launch alongside the M3 MacBook Air, but the laptop arrived without any iPads in tow. He now reports that Apple’s release schedule was pushed back to finish working on the devices’ software and ironing out the kinks from the “complex new manufacturing techniques” they require.

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Ashleigh Oakridge offers boutique-style condos with concrete construction – Vancouver Sun

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Peterson Group’s latest project will be chock-full of amenities and have timeless interiors

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It may not sound exciting to say the big selling points for a new condominium project are that it’s concrete construction and four storeys. But start thinking in terms of getting all the benefits of concrete-tower construction in a sophisticated, boutique-style building of only 34 to 35 units, chock-full of amenities, situated on a quiet, tree-lined Vancouver street and the appeal is obvious—especially to those downsizing in the neighbourhood.

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“That on its own really sets it apart because if you want to be in a boutique setting, you don’t love the idea of highrises, and you want a concrete home type, there aren’t many options. It’s highly unique,” explains Barrett Sprowson, vice-president of sales and project marketing at Peterson Group, the developer of the Ashleigh Oakridge project, which will be composed of three buildings when completed.

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Two of the three buildings, the Berkley and the Alma, will be constructed first, with the Cambridge following later. Each one will have its own curb appeal, but all are designed to integrate into the neighbourhood, hence the plan to maintain the existing trees. The wellness amenities of sauna, steam room, cold and hot plunge pools and fully-equipped fitness room are centrally located in the Berkley for all the residents’ use. All three buildings have their own rooftop amenities that feature an indoor-outdoor flow from an expansive entertainment and co-workspace to patio lounging, dining, fire pits, communal gardens and children’s play area.

The interiors at Ashleigh Oakridge will feature classic styling with design-forward touches.
The interiors at Ashleigh Oakridge will feature classic styling with design-forward touches. Photo by Supplied by Peterson Group

The interiors of the homes, which Sprowson says offer generous, well-laid-out floorplans, feature numerous elevated design details that complement a classic esthetic. His personal favourite is the pot filler over the gas cooktop in the kitchen. “There’s not too many times you run into that, and there’s a little feature that’s practical, helpful and useful but is also tricky and expensive to do,” he says.

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The interior design team at Ste. Marie Studio framed their overall concept around the idea of classic styling accented with design-forward touches.

“We looked at it through the lens of a single-family home and wanting it to feel really timeless,” says Craig Stanghetta, founder and creative director of Ste. Marie Studio. “We don’t want it to feel that it doesn’t have a little bit of risk. There’s a little bit of risk in terms of some brushed metal accents.”

Their use of a bold marble for the kitchen backsplashes makes a dramatic visual statement, but though striking, the pattern is a classic marble, not one heavily veined, and one that would be at home in a Paris apartment or a New York brownstone, Stanghetta observes. In the larger homes, they’ve used it to wrap the islands. “They become a big feature, but in some of these other ones, we’re using the manufactured stone in those areas and letting the backsplash be the big design gesture,” Stanghetta says.

The wellness amenities will include sauna, steam room, cold and hot plunge pools and a fully-equipped fitness room.
The wellness amenities will include sauna, steam room, cold and hot plunge pools and a fully-equipped fitness room. Photo by Supplied by Peterson Group

In the smaller units where the backsplashes are marble, but quartz is used on the counter and island surfaces, the team introduced a dining table-island combination that works for multiple uses—kitchen prep, home office or dining—and the generous bank of wall storage available in the L-shaped configuration allowed for this unique style of island.

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“I think we just acknowledged that sometimes people are prioritizing different things, and if you’re in a one-bedroom living scenario, then we want the flexibility to choose your own adventure with that piece of furniture,” Stanghetta explains.

The appliance package is Miele and features built-in coffee makers, gas ranges, speed ovens, wall ovens and, in some units, wine fridges. There are also sleek can lights over the islands and open shelving for personalizing the space. Sprowson notes that the full-height pantries also boost the kitchens’ functionality and that, though expected when downsizing from a single-family home, they’re often not an option in condo living.

“It’s also a striking kitchen. You look at the marble backsplash and the marble countertop with the waterfall edge, and you’ve got all the functionality, but it’s also, dare I say, very pretty to look at,” he says.

When complete, each building at Ashleigh Oakridge will have rooftop amenities that include an entertainment and co-workspace, patio lounging, dining, fire pits, communal gardens and children's play area.
When complete, each building at Ashleigh Oakridge will have rooftop amenities that include an entertainment and co-workspace, patio lounging, dining, fire pits, communal gardens and children’s play area. Photo by Supplied by Peterson Group

The bathrooms reflect that same mix of functionality and sophisticated styling, with details like flattering sconce lighting and wall-mount toilets. Stanghetta says the floating shelf under the medicine cabinet creates a “nice balance of high-functional storage but then these clean lines that also give you a more fully designed and realized space.”

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He notes that the double vanities in the larger bathrooms have an oversized countertop, a beautiful detail that works with the timeless design concept: attention to detail that will last. The combination of timelessness with contemporary accents creates interiors that reflect the project’s overall vision.

The development is ideally situated to allow residents to be central to everything while enjoying a quiet location.

“This is a viable option for anyone who wants concrete, a good amount of space, decent amenities, all the walkability and proximity to Oakridge and all the cool stuff that’s on the Cambie corridor,” Stanghetta observes.

Ashleigh Oakridge

Project Address: 5080 Ash Street, Vancouver

Project Scope: A development of three, four-storey, concrete, boutique buildings offering one, two and three-bedroom homes that range from 590 to 1,800 square feet. Each building features rooftop amenities and a shared wellness and fitness centre in the Berkley building.

Developers: Peterson Group

Architects: GBL Architects

Prices: Starting in the low $800,000s

Sales centre: Ashleigh PC 2094 W 43rd Ave, Vancouver

Sales centre hours: Open daily (Except Friday), noon to 5 p.m.

Sales phone: 604-476-429

Website: ashleighoakridge.com

Occupancy date: Estimated completion summer 2028

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    HAVAN announces finalists for its annual Awards for Housing Excellence

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